For many New England mills and the communities around them, the road to closure is a painful one. And it’s become a road all too familiar to residents in the Biddeford-Saco area.

During the region’s 19th century heyday, Biddeford’s Pepperell Manufacturing Company was the heart and soul of the local economy, with the complex occupying over 4 million square feet at its turn-of-the-century peak. But the advent of mass electricity – which meant Southern cotton growers didn’t have to ship their product north to be processed – began to take a steady toll on the mill over the decades. By 2006 all production had stopped, and in 2009 the mill was put up for sale.

For a while it looked as if the 21st century would be the death knell for Pepperell, which seemed doomed to follow the outsourced-driven fate of countless mills before it. Instead, one local entrepreneur also saw it as an opportunity to remake the mill in an equally 21st century light – one that was as green as it was bright and forward-facing.... read the full story in High Profile's blog by clicking here!